Apple Trims Starting Prices on Some Laptops

Apple trimmed the prices on some of its laptop models, slashing hundreds of dollars from their starting prices.

Its 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display with 128 gigabytes of flash storage now starts at $1,499, down $200. The same model with a new 2.6 gigahertz processor and 256 gigabytes of storage now has a starting price of $1,699, down $300.

Apple is also lowering the price of its 13-inch MacBook Air with 256 gigabytes to $1,399, down $100.

For all flash-based laptop models, flash upgrades were also reduced by $200 to $300.

The tech giant also boosted the speeds of two other laptop models. Its 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now features a faster 2.4 GHz quad-core processor, compared with 2.3 GHz previously, and the 15-inch notebook comes with a new 2.7 GHz quad-core processor, compared with 2.6 GHz.

The changes come after Apple recorded a flat profit in its holiday quarter, following years of strong growth, and as the company has seen its stock slump amid intensifying competition.

Apple declined to comment further on the price decreases.

Shares closed Tuesday at $467.90 and were down slightly premarket. The stock has dropped 14% over the past three months.